


Coming Home

by Shadowy_Dumbo_Octopus



Series: Brockin' and Rollin' [5]
Category: Venom (Comics)
Genre: Because nerd symbiotes and nerd Flash, D&D, Farewells, Flash gets a new buddy, Gen, Gren calls themselves Tiamat now bc dragon god and bc they associate their name with Knull, Shhh I love projecting, who is a dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-11-25 20:36:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18171170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowy_Dumbo_Octopus/pseuds/Shadowy_Dumbo_Octopus
Summary: The dragon symbiote finally leaves for Klyntar.





	Coming Home

“So,” Flash popped a bubble from chewing gum. “Are you going to talk to me or not?”

Tiamat, formerly known as the Grendel symbiote, flinched at the sudden, loud sound. They turned to their temporary host with narrowed eyes.

“I was going to, but not after this,” they hissed as he continued to chew, chin propped up on one palm, as they watched the cityscape of New York from the rooftop. It wasn't half bad, though definitely too grey and blocky for the symbiote’s taste.

Flash seemed to pick up on their thoughts, because he wrapped the chewed-up gum into a wrapper and pocketed it.

“Fine, fine,” he held his hands up in mock surrender. “Sorry for scaring you, Your Majesty. Will you talk if I promise you a trip to a forest?”

They considered the offer, swirling beneath his skin and stopping to rest inside the stump of his right leg.

Now, they didn't have any problems with their host's mobility; the metal prosthetics certainly did a more than satisfying job even without their aid, but his lack of legs meant an unfortunate reduction of the area they could sulk in.

Oh well, at least he wasn't Knull.

Tiamat growled at the memories of the monster who dared to rid them of their autonomy, thought, personality; reduced them to a mindless tool of destruction, a slave with no free will. To think that such a monster dared to call himself god of the symbiotes! The sheer thought filled them with revulsion.

**“I will, but only if you let me lead the way,”** they replied eventually. Thanks to their host’s patient care, they were at last strong enough to journey back to Klyntar alone, with no host to burden them or strip them of their free will.

For now, though…

They surged outwards, wrapping around Flash’s body and sprouting a giant pair of breathtaking, leathery wings.

**“Ready?”**

Flash gave them a short pulse of excitement.

They took off, quickly gaining height until the city below was reduced to a shapeless mass of grey and brown with some patches of green. The high altitude helped them remain unnoticed, something they had to watch out for because symbiotes weren’t generally well thought of, and besides Flash was supposed to be dead.

_ “Where to now, O Highness?”  _ Flash’s thoughts echoed through their mind. He loved flying; it was like walking, only faster and higher up and  _ so much more awesome. _ And no matter how many times they did it, he always found the experience breathtaking. _ “The rainforest? Romania? Why not New Zealand? I always wanted to visit.” _

Tiamat chuckled.  **“Very well, Flash Thompson.”** They turned eastwards.  **“New Zealand it is.”**

 

~~~

 

They landed less than an hour later in the middle of a lush deciduous forest. A deer, spooked by their arrival, tore through the brush and dashed past them. 

Flash took a deep breath when Tiamat melted back beneath his skin. They both loved the woods and the tranquility they brought. Tiamat especially was fascinated by Earth’s fauna and flora, often expressing amazement how genetically similar humans were to other animals.

“We also have some genes in common with the banana plant,” he had told them once, prompting a very enlightening trip to the library from which they emerged almost three days later, brain bursting with information about genetics and biology both that of humans and other living beings. Andi had joked that Tiamat could accompany her during her bio final if they wanted to.

“Genetics isn’t my thing, really,” she had told them the day before the exam, cramming 800 pages’ worth of information into her and Mania’s single shared braincell.

They were both doing great, Flash mused when they found a reasonably clean tree stump and sat down. Better than he ever dreamt. Andi was so happy and full of life since her symbiote’s return. Speaking of whom, they took to resting around her neck like a gooey scarf, eyespots half-shut in contentment, instead of hiding inside her like they used to.

**“They feel comfortable enough to remain in sight, undisguised”** Tiamat piped in.  **“Not many hosts can earn such trust - it’s an honour.”**

Just like Flash was happy for Andi, they were happy for the Mania symbiote. They deserved a host who loved and appreciated them like Andi did, and Tiamat trusted the young woman enough to let them remain with her without the fear that their relationship would turn similar to the one they had with Knull.

Speaking of whom…

**“Are we certain that he is once and for all gone?”** they inquired, the blue skies above them clouding over with concern.

Flash nodded. “Absolutely.”

**“Good,”** they settled their serpentine head on his shoulder and watched a songbird tending to his feathers on the branch nearby.

“Tiamat?”

**“Yes?”**

“Why do you always speak… like that?”

**“What do you mean?”**

Flash made a vague gesture. “All… fancy. Like calling that thrush over there a songbird, or that bit about the skies clouding over with concern.”

**“Oh,”** they shrugged his shoulders.  **_“That._ ** **I do not know; it comes more naturally to me than talking more akin to you.”**

“You sound like an aged monarch.”

**“Is that not who I am?”**

Flash paused, then scratched his cheek with a chuckle. “Yeah, I guess you are, O Highness.” His smile wavered. “So I guess you’ll be departing for your kingdom soon, huh?”

They nodded, sprouting a tendril to gently weave around his fingers, a gesture they had learned usually brought comfort.

**“My brethren needs a god,”** they said.  **“I have never strayed so far away from Klyntar for so long. My subjects, my children need someone to show them that they are not tools or parasites, but individual beings capable of thought and feeling. I need to mend the damage caused by Knull, and bring light where he had sown darkness.”**

They could feel them, thousands of symbiotes crying out in the void left by Knull. Alone. Lost. They needed guidance, tenderness, healing. Besides, being so far away from their home simply made Tiamat antsy.

Huh, what an interesting term, named after those small hard-working insects in honour of their stamina and the speed of their movements…

_ “I think it’s because they just can’t stay still.” _

Exactly! Such wondrous creatures, but deprived of their free will and unwaveringly obedient to their monarch, not unlike how symbiotes used to be.

But no longer.

**“I will depart at nightfall,”** Tiamat announced, standing up.  **“My kin cannot wait much longer, nor should it. Rest assured, Flash Thompson, that your kindness will not be forgotten as long as life sparks inside even one Klyntar!”**

With those words, they took off into the air, the gust of wind from their wings sending leaves and branches flying.

 

~~~

 

As promised, they returned to the rooftop at nightfall, with Andi and Mania this time, to say goodbye.

Flash felt a void open up in his chest as Tiamat emerged out of him, and formed into a rough approximation of a winged humanoid. He had almost forgotten what it felt like being symbiote-less, how hollow his chest felt every time he took a breath; how bad the phantom pains were even with the medication when he didn’t have a buddy to keep his nerves from overreacting; how quiet his mind was without a conversation partner.

As he angsted over this, Andi and Mania fell to one knee, bowing their head.

**“Thank you for uniting us,”** they said.  **“We wish you safe travels; may the stars always light your way and may the solar wind beneath your wings lead you home.”**

_(“Yo, that was beautifully put. Great job.”_ **“WE’RE TALKING WITH A LITERAL GOD DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH I’M FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW?!”** _“We’re literally sharing a head, so yeah, I have a rough idea.”_ **“Wait, really?”** _“You haven’t stopped screaming since last week.”_ **“Oh right. Shit.”)**

Andi smiled to herself as Tiamat placed a hand on their head.

**“Thank you for your blessing, little ones,”** they said.  **“Know that I will always watch over you wherever you are. As I will carry your blessing in my heart, so you will carry mine in yours.”**

Flash made a mention to kneel too, but they raised a hand to stop him.

**“Rise, Space Knight,”** they said.  **“You have no need to kneel to me. It is I, in fact, who should be paying my respects to you. I do not guarantee that I would have survived without your patience and kindness. You have the gratitude of all Klyntar.”** They bowed more gracefully than Flash ever could’ve even if he still had non-prosthetic legs. 

“I promised that I would reward you,” they said upon straightening up, a mischievous smile playing on their lips, more teeth than flesh.  **“I know that you yearn for a partner, Flash Thompson, just like I know that you would treat them with equal kindness and respect as you have shown me.”**

Flash froze, eyes widening, when they reached into their chest and pulled out a lump of dark crimson goo.

**“This child has suffered greatly from the hands of their previous host, an Oraian whose name will not stain your ears. If I leave the two of you together, will you do a better job than that putrid abomination?”**

Flash had no clue what an Oraian was, but seeing the strange symbiote made his heart do something unspeakably weird in the best way possible.

“I swear,” he said, tears rolling down his face, “to be the host and companion they deserve, but whether that honour befalls me is up to them, not me.”

Tiamat smiled, contented. A good answer.

**“Reach out your hand, then, and we will see what they make of you.”**

He did so, and the symbiote slowly, as if hesitantly, reached out towards him, a surprisingly warm tentacle brushing against his skin.

Two sets of memories played inside his head: one was his, the other showed a strange planet full of strange beings ever at war with each other, hulking machines tearing the land apart and leaving traces of violet fire in their wake. 

**“Your past has been marred by war, just like mine,”** a new voice inside his head said.  **“It is something I don’t want to experience again.”**

“Yeah,” he nodded, gesturing at his legs, “me neither. D&D is enough for me, thank you very much.”

The symbiote seemed to chuckle, digging up a memory from several days’ prior: playing a Pathfinder campaign with some guys he had met via Craigslist.

**“What’s a dragonborn? Dragon? Ranger?”** they asked, oozing out of the god’s grasp and onto the palm of his hand.  **“Will you teach me?”**

Flash laughed, wiping his tears. “Pal, I’ll teach you anything you want.” 

They were so different from the Venom symbiote, their presence inside his - no, their - mind warmer somehow, and their voice was louder and their laughter shook their entire body until their ribs ached but in the good way.

Satisfied that they were leaving their children in capable hands, Tiamat stretched out their wings and took off into the night sky, quickly disappearing in the darkness above.

 

~~~

 

Sleeper sat on an asteroid, watching the symbiote god depart Earth and head for what they assumed was Klyntar. They never visited, nor did they particularly want to, but they were rather curious as to what a literal god was doing in their homeworld.

Perhaps it was time to pay their parents a visit…

 

~~~

 

“So, what do I call you?” Flash asked as they lied on the bed, earbuds in and marathoning the first season of  _ Critical Role.  _

The symbiote swirled under his skin, as if pacing back and forth in thought.

**“I like Nadarr,”** they finally announced.

“What, like my high school D&D character?” He vaguely remembered telling Tiamat about him sometime.

**“Yep.”**

“You sure like that game, don’t you?”

**“Seems fun. Fun is more preferable to violence, and any violence is pretend.”**

He hummed. “You know what? Good point. So what do we call us, then? Thorn?”

The thing with dragonborns was that they earned nicknames during their youth based on their personality; Flash’s character used to be called Thorn, because he was a thorn in everyone’s side.

Maroon goo emerged from his skin, spikes sprouting from his knees, shoulders and elbows, and a pair of horn-like growths appearing on their head.

**“I like Thorn,”** Nadarr said.  **“Can I give us wings and a tail, too?”**

They sat up, podcast immediately forgotten and stars shining bright in their eyes.

“Buddy, that would be  _ fucking sick.” _

**Author's Note:**

> Look! Finally a symbiote not directly related to Venom! Wow! And they're a fucking nerd because nothing brings people together faster than D&D and because I fucking love projecting!


End file.
